The Grand Canal of China.

Water certainly breeds agriculture as well as civilization. Water grants Dezhou the opportunity to serve as a hub connecting neighboring southern regions to Beijing via the Grand Beijing-Hangzhou Canal. Those regions include Yan (now Hebei Province), Qi, (now east Shandong), Zhao, (now East Shaanxi and Southern Hebei Province) and Lu, (now southern Shandong) states. From Yuan to Qing Dynasties (1271-1911), the Grand Canal of China transported merchandise from southern China to Beijing via Dezhou. Today, Dezhou reaches 20 major metropolitan in China just within a day’s drive.